Giannis Antetokounmpo has ‘unfinished business’ and ‘bad taste’ from stinging Las Vegas defeat which ruined his birthday
GIANNIS Antetokounmpo has “unfinished business” in Las Vegas after missing out on winning the first ever FA Cup of basketball.
The “Greek Freak” and his Milwaukee Bucks team booked a return to Sin City for the finals of the Emirates NBA Cup this year.
Milwaukee lost to the Indiana Pacers in last year’s semi-final, who were themselves beaten by LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers in the final at T-Mobile Arena 12 months ago.
Giannis and the Bucks take on the Atlanta Hawks in the first semifinal on Saturday.
He said, “Losing is not a good feeling. But we definitely learned from it.
“We didn’t have time to practice and played the early game and we were sloppy – it was a very weird experience.
“Plus it was my birthday and I was in Vegas and I didn’t know if I was supposed to be partying.
“Maybe I would’ve played better with liquor in my system but I don’t drink.”
The 30-year-old added, “We have unfinished business. We’re going to have fun but we’re going to Vegas to win games.
“We wanted to win it last year and I think we had a good chance to make the final.
“But down the stretch we turned the ball over and wasn’t able to win the semifinal.
“Hopefully this year we can erase that bad taste we have in our mouths from last year.”
The NBA Cup is in its second season after the league took a leaf from European football’s books and added another competition alongside the league.
The Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Houston Rockets in the second semifinal with the championship game on Tuesday.
Antetokounmpo has already won the NBA championship and Most Valuable Player award.
Victory in Las Vegas this week would complete his set of awards in an already legendary young career.
“Giannis just has a drive,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said.
How the NBA Cup works
The NBA Cup returned for a second season this year with the finals once again set to take place in Las Vegas.
The 30 teams were split into six groups of five teams each with games taking place on Tuesdays and Fridays from November 12 to December 3.
The six group winners and two best wild cards advance to a quarterfinals stage on December 10 and 11.
And the final four head to Las Vegas for the semifinals on December 14 and the final on December 17.
All games count towards the team’s regular-season record, apart from the championship game.
“He wants to win at everything he does and that helps your team.
“He’s deadly serious about his profession and has been a joy to coach in that way.
“He is on board, from a coaching standpoint there’s nothing easier than that.”
Atlanta beat the top two teams in the Eastern Conference – the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers – on their way to the final.
They took down the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in the quarterfinal, when star player Trae Young celebrated on their logo.
“We definitely played some really tough teams to get here,” Young said.
“But we’re just really focused on the next opponent.
“Since Boston, everybody went out there and played their tails off, then we just kept playing and building every game.
“Now we’ve got the Bucks and they’re a great team.
“We know it’s not an easy test but we’ll definitely be up for the challenge.